Megan was tired, and when Pete stormed out she was angry. Why does he get to leave? She was busy getting the twins ready for bed and feeding them. She only nursed them a few times a day, but bedtime was one of those times. During the day while she worked they had bottles. They were too big to nurse together, so she fed one at a time.

Sophie went first and Megan put her in her crib while she fed Nick. Nick was stuffy, so he had to stop to breathe, and it took him awhile to settle. When his eyes drooped, she held him hoping it would help relax her.

She wanted to call or text Pete to tell him sorry, but she wanted to hear it from him first. She looked out and saw the first flakes of snow falling and hoped he would be home soon. She climbed in bed and fell asleep. She woke with a start at one am. The bed beside her was cold and empty. She went to the window. The snow was coming down. She checked her phone, but he hadn't called or texted. Where was he? Was he safe? Why wasn't he home?

She tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. She paced the floor worrying. At some point, Nick cried, and she walked with him. By the time, the baby was asleep, heavy in her arms, she was dwelling on the fight and the way he stormed out. She knew she wasn't the girl he fell in love with anymore. She was fat, and she had stretch marks on her belly and breasts. Her breasts would never be the same. She didn't want him to touch them now, and they were bound to look worse when she finished nursing. With half her disgusting body off limits, he was probably looking for a sexier woman, one with a perfect body.

That's where he was, she thought, in someone else's bed. But the storm, what if he was stuck in a snowbank or hurt? No, she thought, he'd call. She sent a few texts throughout the night asking where he was. Finally after three am, a text came from him.

She jumped for her phone, and there was a picture of him in a bed with the bitch. The text said, not coming home having too much fun!

Oh my God! How could he do this to her with - with her? She felt her blood run cold and texted, don't come home. Stay away from me. I hate you.

She climbed in bed. The bed she had shared with him - the bed where they conceived their babies - the bed where they often talked of their future. She curled up in a fetal position and cried. She cried for her heart and her marriage which both shattered by one picture.

She slept for a little while. She woke to the sound of her phone ringing. It was him. She didn't answer. Instead, she went to get Sophie who was stirring before she woke Nick.

Rocked Sophie, she held her too tight. When her phone rang again, she wouldn't answer. She saw he left a voicemail. She listened as he pleaded and insisted he didn't do anything. "Why would I send a picture? The bitch did this."

She may be a bitch, but she wasn't fat, and he chose her. As if on autopilot, she fed and dressed the babies. She sat with them while they crawled around her. Nick seemed better, and he had slept well. Too bad Megan had slept so little.

She looked out and saw a lot of snow, but it was letting up. She would have to shovel while they were napping. Her father called with a message from the cheater, saying it was a setup. She knew he was just feeling guilty and told her father as much.

She grabbed a trash bag and started filling it with Peter's clothes - everything from his bathing suit to his good suit that he wore to interviews. She took another when the first was full and put in more clothes, his laptop, his books, and his CDs.

Her father offered to come dig out her car and talk about it with her. She watched as he cleaned and shoveled out her car and made a path to the door. When he knocked on her door, she handed him the bags. "There is nothing to talk about."

She meant those words. She never wanted to discuss the humiliation with anyone. She knew she wasn't good enough for him. She never really was. Somehow she duped him for a while. They made a stupid mistake. Her mother was right; they shouldn't have gotten married. She hated him for what he did.

She spent the next two days ignoring everyone. He threatened to come over, but she told him she'd call the police, if he did. She ignored New Year's Eve. She refused to think of all the ones they had celebrated together. Dwelling in the past only made her cry, and she had to stop crying.

She put herself together on the third day and got the three of them out of the house. She brought them to daycare on their first day. When they planned it, he was supposed to do the dropping off. Co-workers asked if she was alright throughout the day and she just mentioned it was the first day of daycare and received sympathetic looks. She kept to herself and everyone was so busy no one really noticed, not even Karen. She had a lot of work to catch up on. She did no work over vacation.

After work before picking up the babies, she stopped at the hardware store and purchased a new lock for the front door. She had texted him that morning to tell him to get anything he need before three o'clock.

That night the babies went to bed easily and early. They must have had a lot of stimulation. She changed the lock herself. She didn't think he had come. She finally slept. It was a fitful sleep from emotional exhaustion. She drifted from one bad dream to another. When she woke, she felt no better.

Every day was the same. She got them out the door to daycare. She kept to herself at work and picked them up again. She barely remembered eating. Food made her feel nauseous. She developed a routine. She was up early and showered before they woke. She fed them and dressed them one at a time. She could accomplish things the two of them had trouble doing together. Her time with them in the evenings was too short, because they were so tired. She had time to work and went to sleep early exhausted.

Friday at lunchtime, Karen came in her room smiling. "I haven't seen you all week."

"I've been busy."

"Is daycare working out?"

"Yes."

"Has Peter heard from his interview?"

Megan just stared at her, not sure what to say. If she said, I don't know, she would have to explain. She felt the tears starting to well.

She pulled herself together and curtly said, "I have to correct these quizzes."

Karen apologized for interrupting and left. Megan would have to tell people, but didn't want anyone to know the humiliating story. The truth was, she couldn't keep him happy, so he turned to his old girlfriend.

Karen came back at the end of the day. Megan was packing up her work for the weekend.

"Something's not right. You can talk to me."

Megan thought again. They were friends. Karen was the first person to befriend her when she started as a new college graduate. She helped her find her place and fit in amongst the staff - many of whom were her former teachers.

Megan started with two warnings. "Don't tell anyone and don't freak out. Promise?" She paused while Karen nodded her head and taking a deep breath. "I kicked him out. He cheated."

"You're not serious. I don't believe it."

She thought of showing her the picture, but it was too humiliating. Instead, she explained how they fought and he went out and didn't come home. "He spent the night with his old girlfriend while I was up worrying."

"Maybe nothing happened."

"That's what he said, but I know her. Something happened, and I am done with him."

"But you love each other. Spend two minutes with you two and you can tell."

"Not anymore. The only things I feel for him are anger and hate. I have to go pick up the twins." Megan walked past her out the door.

When she picked the babies up, the teacher Sarah said, "Nick was fussy after his Daddy left today."

Megan was taken aback, it never occurred to her he was seeing the twins. She was not so heartless to want to keep him from the children he loved. She carefully asked, "How long did he stay?"

"Same as he does every day, about an hour during lunch. It is rather helpful. He is wonderful with them. You're lucky."

"Yes, he is," she said absently. Another blind side, but to be fair she was not receptive to communicating with him.

Megan went home to face two full days alone with the twins. There were things she couldn't avoid any longer like food shopping. She had started to eat a little again, but her appetite was not what it was. Still she needed food in the house.

Saturday morning, her mother appeared at her door. She breezed in and went over to the twins who both smiled when they saw her. She kissed each and turned to her daughter.

"I have given you some space to wallow, now let's talk about this," Marie said firmly

"There's nothing to talk about. You were right. I was wrong."

"Right. Wrong. What are you talking about?"

"You said we shouldn't get married, and you were right."

"I said that three years ago. You changed my mind a long time ago. Besides this business has nothing to do with what I said."

"No, it has everything to do with what he did!"

"He says he didn't do anything. He is a wreck. I, for one, believe him."

"You would. You always liked him more than your own kids."

"That's not true!"

Sophie cried, and Megan picked her up. Feeling the need to calm herself down she offered her the breast which she was content with for a while. Then Nick came looking for his turn. Her mother picked up Sophie.

"I didn't come to fight with you. I know you're hurt and angry. I understand that. I want what's best for you, for all four of you."

"What's best and what is are two different things. I really need to get ready to go food shopping."

"Let me take the babies while you shop. I can give you some time and bring them back before their nap."

"You sure?" Her mother nodded. "They need to be back by one. I don't have food to give you."

"Don't worry I have food for them." Marie assured her.

Her mother already had car seats in her car. So Megan helped load them in and went shopping alone.